Whats the best way to level tablesaw extensions?

[Keith Albertson]

I just got my brand new tablesaw, a Sawstop, and I'm struggling trying to level the extension wings. I don't have a real straightedge, just a long aluminum ruler and several levels. I'm really having trouble adjusting the wings......trying to move it up or down a few thousandths and keeping it level while trying to tighten a few bolts has gotten real frustrating.

Anybody got a better way? I've tried clamping the wings to some "flat" boards while I tighten the bolts, but i'm just not getting the accuracy I think I need.

Speaking of that, how level and flat is good enough? I can get it to about a 2 sheets of paper gap between highest and lowest points. Is that good enough for hobbyist work?

Thanks.

[kenneth kayser]

If you put a piece of metal on top and C clamp it in place it should hold that point dead flat. Do that in front and back. Now, the center may be high or low. If si, you now have to compromise. I set mine flat just in front of the blade, then split the difference between front and back. You can use a feeler gauge between the table (or extension) and clamp to set the front and back. If the pieces do not mate within .010 call the vendor and ask what the spec is. You can measure the difference with a feeler gauge.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I leveled mine using .001" steel shim stock. It's like aluminum foil. I did this because my wings were high on the sides.

So I bolted the wings on somewhat loosely, so that they would hang, cut the shim stock extra long, took some blue painters tape and taped the ends of the shim stock to the edge of the wing (kind of rapped it around the corner and taped it to the front and back edges of the wing), and tightened the bolts. IF it was still high, I added another strip of shim stock, etc etc.

IF they're low, add the shim stock below the bolts. IF they're high, add them above the bolts.

Make sense?

As for whether 2 sheets of paper is acceptable, 2 sheets roughly = .008". I would say that doesn't matter much if it's the wings. But if you have a low or high point right next the the throat plate of the saw, that could cause problems with the angles of your cuts.

[glenn bradley]

Cast iron is pretty flexible. I get one end even (I don't worry about flat yet) and work my way across getting even as possible along the seam. As to leveling I use thin foil tape as shim material. Brass shim stock can be used as well but getting it to stay put while leveling and tightening is a battle. I use a dead-blow mallet to assist. I am using the mass of the rubber coated hammer to nudge the wing; I am not banging away on it ;-)

Once I am very close to level, I again go through the effort to make the seam even. To support the wing whilst I am doing all this I will sometimes use parallel clamps with the head reversed as a spreader and blocks of wood as spacers to allow me to screw the clamp handles to make subtle elevation changes in the wing. This leave both hands free for minor adjustments and tightening. Like Peter, I am in the .001 - .0015" area. If I can squeeze more than that under the straight-edge, I keep adjusting.

This is moot if you do not have a quality straight-edge. For all you know you could be trying to correct to an uneven spot ion your builder's level or whatever. Without a good straight-edge I would get it to where it looked and felt "pretty good" and call it done. No need to kill yourself over something you cannot confirm.

[mreza Salav]

Here is how I adjusted mine:
Used two clamps (bessey k-body in my case) in the "spreader" mode under the wings. Tighten the bolts enough until they hold the wings in place.
Then I rotate the clamp handle very slowly to lift the wing as much as I want, if too much, put a block of wood on the top and tap with a mallet lightly until it goes back down. A few back an forth tries gives you an acceptable level of flattness.

[Dan Forman]

For a straightedge, try edge jointing a couple of sticks about four feet long by 2 or three inches wide. After jointing, put the jointed surfaces against each other, and if they fit together without either rocking or showing a gap, they will be for all practical purposes straight. You should be able to use one of them for a straightedge to check your table and wings for flatness.

Eventually you should get a good straightedge for machine setups. Lee Valley and Hartville tool have good relatively inexpensive straightedges.

As others have said, you may have some give and take on the seams, but the area around the blade is the most critical to have flatness.

Dan

[Michael Peet]

Keith,

See my SS assembly thread:

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=125410

The SawStop rails are designed to allow you to do the final leveling without resorting to shims. Having just put one of these together a month or two ago, my advice is to just bolt the wings on without worrying about evenness or levelness right now - just get them close. After you get the rails attached, they can support the wings while you tweak everything. Then go after the seam first, and finish with the leveling.

Holler if you have any other questions -

Mike

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Keith,

See my SS assembly thread:

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=125410

The SawStop rails are designed to allow you to do the final leveling without resorting to shims. Having just put one of these together a month or two ago, my advice is to just bolt the wings on without worrying about evenness or levelness right now - just get them close. After you get the rails attached, they can support the wings while you tweak everything. Then go after the seam first, and finish with the leveling.

Holler if you have any other questions -

Mike


Agreed - use the rails to help adjust the wings. Doing it without the rails would be very frustrating.

My wings also were on the 'high' side. I adjusted the part near the main table until they were flush (used a short straightedge). Then I put a 2x4 underneath the rails (front to back) at the outside edge of the wing, and used a clamp at the front of the wing and one at the rear of the wing. I put one part of the clamp on top of the wing, the other side underneath the 2x4, and gradually tightened the clamp to push the edge of the wing down until it was as level as I could get it.

Pic of this is in this thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=127002

[Michael Peet]

John, your solution to leveling the wings with clamps looks a lot easier than what I came up with. I would do it that way if I had to do it again - looks much easier to make fine adjustments and you can do front and back at the same time.

Cheers,

Mike

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

John, your solution to leveling the wings with clamps looks a lot easier than what I came up with. I would do it that way if I had to do it again - looks much easier to make fine adjustments and you can do front and back at the same time.
Mike

I found it worked really well. I tried the 2x4 between the wing and the ceiling but found it hard to make fine adjustments. Making small adjustments with the clamp was very easy, and once it was bolted to the rail, it didn't move at all when the clamps were removed.

[Tony Bilello]

........and I'm struggling trying to level the extension wings. I don't have a real straightedge.....trying to move it up or down a few thousandths and keeping it level while trying to tighten a few bolts has gotten real frustrating.
Speaking of that, how level and flat is good enough? I can get it to about a 2 sheets of paper gap between highest and lowest points. Is that good enough for hobbyist work? Thanks.

For a long straight edge, a long level should work as good as anything else.
Trying to move it up and down, I would try to get it as close as reasonably possible with as little effort as possible. Then get a board propped up under it at an angle and tap it lightly to raise. Some clamps on the ends should help hold it
I personally never get too worried about a few thousandths of an inch. My concern is in the cut. not the dial gages. Make a few cuts and if you can edge join two boards straight off the saw with little to no clamping pressure, then all is OK.
As for "good enough for hobbyist work", there should be no difference between a hobbyist and a professional. A straight cut is a straight cut no matter who it is for.

[Michael MacDonald]

Keith -- I had the same problem with my contractors saw a few months ago. I found that clamping a hardwood 1x8 (about 18" long) on its edge across the top--middle right on the seam, lined up the seam perfectly. It was tough to get it in place, but once there I was able to tighten the bolts and now I can barely feel the seam. I can't remember where I clamped it... certainly on each side, and perhaps right on the seam as well. I had to add some blocks to the bottom of the table... I used jorgensen parallel jaw clamps. Then once I added the rails I was able to level across the table top. Once you get it done, it is really good...

[Kyle Iwamoto]

The wood whisperer has a table saw setup video. It may give you some insight. He's great!

[Keith Albertson]

Guys,

Thanks for all the ideas. I feel better now knowing that I'm not the only one who had some difficulty with all this.

After I leveled the wings, as the Sawstop manual instructed, and after I posted my thread, I opened up the fence rails. As Michael said, the rails are supposed to help. So I went through everything again, this time adding in the rails. I'm still not real happy with it.

I think I'll go down to Woodcraft, invest in a true straight edge, and then use the 2x4 trick John used.....but I'll check out the video links recommended.

Thanks agian everybody. What a great wealth of information and experience!!!!

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Keith - one problem I ran into was that the front rail sloped up ever so slightly, causing me problems when it came time to adjust the ext'n table. Try to get the rails to be aligned with the main table as much as you can.